


Come One, Come All!

by Hayjake1



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - Circus, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Flashbacks, Mutilation, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-23 09:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6112872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hayjake1/pseuds/Hayjake1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The town of Beacon Hills is a small California town known all across the western U.S. for the famous Beacon Hills Carnival. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the descent into war, the carnival was forced to close down temporarily. Now, in 1946, after the war’s end, the carnival prepares to reopen, despite numerous obstacles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Line-up

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf, as you may have guessed.   
> This first chapter is an overview of the character's roles in the Carnival and a brief glimpse of their backstory.

Peter Hale was the owner and leader of the Beacon Hills Carnival for years, but after he died in the war, he left it to Morrell, the carnivals chief financier and his lover. She is rarely present, and only reluctantly agreed to reopen, electing to leave the running of things to the carnies. Her family is exceptionally wealthy, and she managed to survive off their fortune during the war.

Derek was Peter's nephew and came to the carnival looking for a job from his uncle. He started doing basic set-up and stagehand work with Scott, but Peter soon saw the potential of giving him a strongman performance. He was with the carnival for 4 years when war broke out. He went off to fight like all the other men, returning to convince Morell to reopen the carnival after the war.

Scott, Stiles, and Allison grew up in the carnival. Melissa showed up one day, pregnant, and with a thick, unmistakable black beard, looking for a way to earn a living, she had sought out the one place that she could put her unique feature to use. She became the Incredible Bearded Woman that day, and a mother to everyone at the carnival. Soon Scott came, and from the instant he could walk he had been setting up equipment, helping in acts, and doing any other odd jobs that needed doing. After Scott was drafted, Melissa shaved her beard and left the carnival to work as a military nurse. After the war she let her beard grow back in and returned to the carnival with Scott, bringing her friend Deaton, a doctor she met at the military hospital to join as a medic.

Sheriff was the original sharpshooter at the carnival and raised his son Stiles there. Due to the quickness of his draw and his stern attitude he became known as "sheriff" to the other carnies, and the name stuck. Stiles was quickly revealed to be a natural barker and show-promoter, and was always put to work on show nights. Both Stilinski’s found themselves serving in the war, and unfortunately, Sheriff lost his hand in the war and could no longer shoot. Upon everyone's return, he was made head of security while Stiles returned to his old duties, and Morrell found a woman named Braeden who was an amazing markswoman. She was brought in as the new sharpshooter, despite Sheriff’s objections.

Chris came to the carnival with his two year old daughter Allison, and quickly took a job operating the ferris wheel and other machinery there. As his daughter grew up, she became more attracted to the idea of performing in the show and, encouraged by Scott and Stiles, she trained herself to be a skilled knife-thrower, stunning the audience every week. Chris fought in the war, and Allison took a job in a factory helping the war effort. 

Liam's parents were the great acrobats of the Beacon Hills Carnival, and after they had him he came to join them in their acts. Soon, the Death-defying Dunbar’s began looking to add to their numbers, so they begin taking in children found begging on the street and training them. Thus, Boyd, Erica, and Hayden joined. When war broke out and the carnival shut down, Boyd and Mr. Dunbar were drafted, Haydan took a secretarial job, and Erica began pickpocketing.  Liam, only 15 years old, desperately wanted to fight, but his mother insisted he stay to care for her after she found out his father died at Iwo Jima. She died of illness right as the war ended. He was taken in by Melissa, who had returned to the carnival just as his mother took Ill. 

Lydia showed up desperate for work after leaving her mother's home due to their frequent arguments. She has been able to successfully fake being a psychic and had been with the carnival for almost three years when war broke out, giving crystal ball readings and tarot card fortunes. She set off on her own when the carnival shutdown, providing private readings throughout town. 

Malia was an orphan doing street performances with her contortions when the carnival found her and took her in. She was there for five years as a contortionist before war broke out. She joined Allison in working at the factory during the war.

Jackson was found by the carnival after they heard about two parents abandoning their child when he started to grow scales all over his face and was born with a tail. They took him in, and he was raised alongside the other carnie kids. He was with the carnival 17 years as the Lizard-man when war broke out, and was exempt from the draft due to various medical malformations and stayed at the abandoned carnival, living off whatever he could find.

Aiden and Ethan came to them from a rival carnival that wanted to get rid of them after their costly medical needs became too much. Being conjoined at the shoulder, they became quite the attraction at the show. They were with the carnival for 6 years when war broke out. Being exempt from the draft, they stayed with Jackson 

Isaac just sorta showed up one day , hanging around the carnival everyday until closing. Peter realized that people would stop and think his tattoo covered skin and piercings were part of their show, so he gave him a place in the group as “The Human Canvas.” He keeps quiet, only ever talking with Scott and Lydia, and nobody asks about his past. He was with the carnival a year when war broke out. He fought in the war.

Parrish had been with another rival carnival for years working as a fire-breather when he was run off after sleeping with his boss's wife. He came to Beacon Hills and Peter gave him a job. He had been with the carnival for a year when war broke out. He fought in the war.

Mr. Yukimura and his daughter Kira fled their home in Korea when Japan invaded. They found their way to the carnival and despite the language barrier, both found employment. Mr. Yukimura works the main ticket office, and Kira possesses the remarkable ability of sword-swallowing. Kira has picked up English fairly well, and spends her time teaching her dad or hiding out in her trailer. Most of the carnies are still reluctant to accept them.

Natalie worked in an armaments factory, and after the end of the war, reconnected with her estranged daughter, seeking money, and began to work at the carnival selling cheap trinkets and attempting to win back Lydia. Most of the carnies still shun her as an outsider but she has grown close to Melissa and Sheriff.

Mason served alongside Boyd and was fascinated by his stories of the carnival, so upon war's end, he followed him there and, unlike Natalie and the Yukimuras, was welcomed warmly and given a job as a midway attendant.

Now, only three months after they had all reconnected, the day of the reopening has arrived.


	2. Scott

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Each chapter will be from a different characters POV, with this one being Scott's.

“Have you seen Isaac today?”

Scott set down the chair he was carrying and turned towards the voice, wiping the sweat from his eyes. Lydia stood behind him, a halo of light from the rising sun framing her face, her lips pursed in annoyance. It was rare to see her outside her trailer ever since they all came back to town. Everybody came to her when they wanted to talk, she never came to them. The possibility of having to interact with her mother made her so frustrated that she didn’t even come out for mealtimes, instead Scott, Isaac, Allison, and Stiles had taken to bringing their food to her trailer and eating in there with her, conversing and laughing all throughout. Ever since they returned, it seemed like that was the only place where any one laughed.

“Not yet. He was supposed to help me and Derek set up the chairs for tonight. I kinda figured he slept in. You know, last night was another bad one.” Lately every night had been a bad one for Isaac. Scott was beginning to wonder if he slept at all without visions of the battles scarring his mind.

Lydia slowly exhaled, her hand moving to rest on her temple. “Well, he’s not in his trailer and the doctor hasn’t seen him either. He was supposed to come to me this morning for a reading.”

“A reading of what?” Asked Scott, confusion on his face.

“A Bible reading.” Lydia deadpanned.

“Really? I didn’t think…”

“A psychic reading Scott! He asked me to give him a psychic reading.”

“Oh.” Silence fell over them as the carnival begin to show signs of life. Without realizing it, they had walked straight into the center of the midway, where everyone was running in circles to make sure everything was ready for their grand re-opening. Scott saw Mason lining up prizes on the booth shelves, Braeden and Allison practicing their aim, Mr. Yukimura talking with his daughter in the shadow of the main tent, and center stage at the entrance gate, Stiles was flailing frantically while talking with Malia and Scott’s mom.

Turning to Lydia and adopting a smile to calm her, Scott urged “Let’s ask them. I’m sure one of them has seen him.” She only nodded, and they made their way to the group.

Upon their approach, Stiles grin widened, and in a fast, booming voice proudly announced “ The Mystic Beauty and the Human Pin Cushion! Step right up and see for yourself!”

“Practicing for tonight?” Lydia questioned, her mouth twitching into the beginning of a smile. Stiles always had that effect on people. Scott, however, only glared at his friend.

“Since when is it the Human Pin Cushion?”

Stiles’ smugness faded as he matter-of-factly replied “Since you decided to let Allison use you as target practice.” Scott saw his mom quickly frown, though she tried to cover it by pretending to scratch her beard.

He only rolled his eyes as he heard the protest again. “It's not that big a deal. I’ve had worse things than knives thrown at me.” _Like grenades,_ he thought.

His mom spoke up at this point, speaking slowly to hide her emotion. “You better just hope she hasn’t gotten rusty these last few years, because if she so much as cuts your hair with those knives tonight, I will never let you hear the end of it.”

Sensing the conversation shifting towards a new topic, Lydia was quick to interrupt, startling Scott quite a bit, and ask if they had seen Isaac. Malia and Melissa just shook their heads, but Stiles took the opportunity to shove a pile of papers into Lydia’s hands.

“Haven’t seen him. He probably went into town to buy a scarf or get some other hole poked in his ear. We’re heading out to hand out fliers for the reopening tonight, you can come and look around town for him.” The hyperactive boy rambled. After a brief moment of hesitation, Lydia seemed responsive to the idea, and was walking out the gate with Malia. Scott caught a glimpse of Derek glaring at him, clearly unhappy with the amount of work left to him when Scott stopped to talk to Lydia. Choosing to stay behind and finish setting everything up, he turned back to return to work, but his mother pulled him off to the side before she left for town.

Concern was clearly marked on her face as she looked up at her son. “So nobody’s seen Isaac all day? Do you think he’s alright?”

“I don’t know. He was supposed to go to Lydia’s trailer this morning and he never showed. Then he didn’t show up to help me and Derek. Lydia says his trailer is empty.”

“She can see that? With her… whatever it is?” Melissa asked in an astonished voice, referring to the girl’s psychic abilities.

“Mom, I think she just went to his trailer and checked.” Scott responded.

His mother’s face deflated, and returned to worry. “Yeah, I guess that makes more sense. Just make sure you find him Scott. The whole thing has got me nervous.”

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna find him.” With that, his mother hugged him, and followed the others into town. As she walked away, Scott thought back to the last time he had seen her that upset. He thought of the cold, the feel of the wind, the- 

_-weight of his pack pressed down on his shoulders as she held him. He saw Stiles and his dad getting in their car and leaving the lot. Isaac sat alone at the bus stop outside the carnival, and as Scott said his final goodbye and began the walk to his car, she stopped him and with tears lining the corners of her eyes, she said “Do one more thing for me, Scott. Give Isaac a ride to the station, please.”_

_He had resisted, immediately protesting “I’m already running behind, and besides we’re not even taking the same train. The bus will be here soon.”_

_He turned to leave, not wanting to drag this out any longer, but she grabbed his wrist and in a suddenly strong voice proclaimed “Scott, look around.” He did a quick once over of the remaining people at the carnival: Allison, teary eyed from her goodbyes, Malia, sitting alone near the midway, Aiden and Ethan, whispering to each other under the freak-show tent, and all the others. “This is your family, Scott.” His mom continued, “and you’ve got to protect your family.” After that, he drove Isaac to the station and never looked back._

_He would always protect his family._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!


	3. Stiles

They set out around eleven. The small stretch of shops and the lonesome diner that surrounded the Motel Glen Capri was the only place truly considered to be “in town” and not lost to the small apartments that ensnared the city like a noose, so every year, before the first show of the season, the carnival would parade their oddities down the street that ran through the middle of it. In years past it was always a big event, with people lining the street and jockeying for the best view as the acrobats cartwheeled by and the stunters juggled their knives or held pretend duels, all with Stiles at the front called to the masses to come one, come all.

This year Stiles could only convince Melissa and Malia to join him; one for the sheer purpose of upholding tradition and one simply for the attention she got when she would walk down the street on her hands with her legs placed behind her ears. He didn’t even bother to call out to the few people left to walk the street or sip coffee at the dinner. He had a stack of fliers he would hand out instead, having to force them into their hands.

Lydia had come along too; though she would often disappear to pop into stores and inquire about Isaac’s whereabouts. Scott was concerned about him too, but stayed at the carnival ground in case he wandered back. Of course, Derek’s demands that he help set up had also grounded him there. Everyone knew, to piss Morrell off was a crime, but to piss Derek off was a death sentence. 

They continued their circuit throughout the town until lunch, when they all stopped at the diner. They ate on the picnic tables out back (some patrons inside had complained about Melissa’s beard, so they calmly moved to the quiet isolation of the exterior seating).

“I just don’t get it.” Stiles pronounced with his mouth full of curly fries, “Where is everyone? Normally everyone is in town this time of day.” He swallowed and placed his head in his hands in a moment of bewilderment and frustration.

Melissa, sitting to his right, patted his arm. “People are just adjusting. Eventually they’ll all wander over to the show. We may not have a big opening, but I have a feeling this will be our busiest year yet. It’s a new age! Everyone’s just got to venture out and find us again.”

Stiles couldn’t find comfort in her words. “But what if I can’t get people to come to the opening tonight?” He was terrified that the poor attendance would disappoint Morell, who was already struggling to justify keeping the carnival open with Peter gone. Almost worst was the idea that he wouldn’t get to see the smile his dad used to always wear at the shows. The only thing that seems to make him smile now was the flask that he thought he kept well hidden. Nothing stays hidden from Stiles for long though.

“Maybe we just need to find a new way to attract people.” Malia half-heartedly suggested, pushing away her empty plate. Before anyone responded, Lydia (whom Stiles was convinced had been paying the discussion no attention) shot up from her chair and snatched a flyer off the table. No one was able to question her before she whistled to two boys walking past the tables. They turned and immediately walked over.

She handed the first one a flyer while smiling flirtatiously. “Are you guys gonna be at the carnival opening  tonight? I’d love to see you there.”

“You going alone?” There was a hopefulness in his eyes that disgusted Stiles.

“No, hotshot, I’m working it! It’d really mean a lot if you could make it.” She was all giggles now, but power danced across her face.

The second boy pulled his eyes off her just enough to gaze at the rest of them. He chuckled at the odd assortment, then rejoined his friend in leering Lydia over. “What are you suppose to be then?” He asked.

“I’m a fortune teller. I can see your futures. I’ll give you a reading if you come by tonight..”

“How about I tell you what I see in your future?” The boy laughed as he moved forward and cupped Lydia’s ass through her skirt. Stiles instantly went to his feet, only to find Malia had already left her seat and was blocking the second boy with murder in her eyes. Lydia pushed the creep off and Stiles and Melissa went to her side. “Don’t blow a fuse, prude!” The boy hollered as he and his friend turned and ran.

“I see a foot up the ass in your future!” Lydia yelled back. She fixed the crease in her skirt and sat back down, anger rolling off her in waves. Melissa thought they should all head back, but Lydia insisted they at least stay to look for Isaac. When she made it clear she would not return to the fairground, they all began to head on down the road.

Only about fifteen minutes later they heard an ear-splitting scream. Stiles and Malia both ran towards it, down a side alley practically hidden from view, while Melissa and Lydia followed more cautiously. A thin girl with caramel skin stood against one wall, shaking; meanwhile a large shape laid in the shadows in front of her, hardly moving but occasionally whimpering. “I-I-I- just saw him and, and so I yelled I don’t, don’t know if- mean I just- I just- I…”  The girl was rambling on, though Melissa was at least able to get her name between the sobs: Meredith.

The rest of them looked down at the figure on the ground, and then it was Lydia’s turn to scream. It was Isaac, curled into a ball, blood dribbling down his face. His eyes would open and close with no hint of consciousness, and a large bloody patch had been taken from his right arm. Malia tried to rouse him, but all he did was thrash his head towards them. On his forehead, previously the only portion of his body not to bear some mark, blood pooled around several small jagged wounds. Each a tiny cut,  but they all saw the bigger wound beneath it. Malia gasped. Written in scars across his head a single word leaped out at them, like a tiger with claws gleaming. FREAK was branded upon him. The whole time, Stiles stayed frozen in place looking at the eyes, which opened and closed, but any previous light within them was gone. Just like the other eyes, back in ….

_ The French field made a decent camp, the trees around the outskirts forming a nice shield against the unseasonably warm day. All around him, soldiers were unloading trucks and setting up tents, some young and eager eyed, other old and melancholic. The ones who have seen the most, Stiles assumed. He had been lucky so far, being resigned to mostly grunt work. He hadn’t even fired his gun outside of drills, or laid eyes on the enemy. It seemed like they always arrived after the battle had finished, doing nothing more than occasional recon. Stiles and two other privates were chosen for a scouting today, and as they walked from the field in which they had made camp to the nearby village, laid to waste by bombings just a day ago, Stiles found himself both excited and nervous to finally see the effects of the war firsthand.  _

_ The village was empty, as they had assumed. The few buildings still standing held nothing but wreckage. It must have been evacuated pretty effectively, as the only bodies they found were two cows blown to smithereens in one of the pastures. As they were heading back, Stiles stepped into the forest to relieve himself, and that’s where he found her. _

_ She was laying on the ground, dirt and leaves sprayed across her dark hair. She was definitely from the village, judging by her rural attire. Most of the nearby trees had fallen as well, and one particularly large specimen had fallen on her, crushing her abdomen and effectively ripping her body in half. Her legs laid on the other side of the fallen tree, pressed against a large stump. They were torn and bloody from where some creature, likely wolves, had made a meal of them. Stiles took one look into her brown eyes, wide open and staring straight at him, and instantly felt sick. He could not take it upon himself to move, so he didn’t. He stayed there, suddenly just a sacred boy, alone with a body in the woods.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, hope you enjoyed! Comment and let me know what you think!


End file.
